THE SUN made a valiant attempt to appear and the rain stayed away as the Electric Picnic festival got under way in Stradbally.
While there has been some dire warnings about inclement weather over the weekend, early arrivals yesterday had nothing worse than a stiff breeze to contend with.
The wind made things difficult for the 850 cyclists who took part in the Tour de Picnic in aid of Temple Street Children’s Hospital from Tallaght stadium in Dublin to Stradbally, Co Laois, a distance of 80km (50 miles).
A headwind blew into the faces of cyclists, especially when negotiating the undulating hills from Kilcullen to Athy, a stretch that gives the lie to the idea that the whole of the midlands is flat.
There was some compensations at the end, notably a complementary massage, ice bath and a can of beer. The cycle will raise more than €350,000 for a new premature baby unit at the hospital.
Co-promoter Melvin Benn described ticket sales this week as “absolutely amazing”, despite forecasts that suggest heavy rain today and tomorrow. He is anticipating the festival will attract just over 30,000 fans, including, for the first time, 4,000-5,000 day ticket holders on Sunday.
Sinead O'Connor made an early appearance in advance of her on-off-on appearance on the Late Late Show last night. She dedicated a song from her new album to Ryan Tubridy.
“See you soon sweetie, Mama’s coming home,” she said.
She also dedicated I am Stretched On Your Graveto the memory of Amy Winehouse.
U2’s the Edge was scheduled to make an appearance last night to watch his old friend Gavin Friday duet on stage with the Edge’s brother Dik Evans, his erstwhile bandmate from The Virgin Prunes.
Once again the Picnic has proved to be an extraordinary draw for families, with an extended family area this year that even includes a launderette.
It is the fourth Electric Picnic for Charlie Hughes, though he is only 3½. His parents Stephen and Gillian and his siblings Sarah (2) and Bobby (seven months) reclined on camp chairs in the main arena to watch Sinead O’Connor.
The household come back every year. “It’s real family time,” said Gillian. “There’s no laptop, there’s no television. There’s nothing to do except be together as a family.”
The Electric Picnic throws up all sorts of unusual entrepreneurs, but the owners of comfycrappers.com have to be the cheekiest to date.
They are charging €20 for a weekend pass which guarantees such luxuries as clean toilets and loo paper.